Watertown man guilty of second-degree rape, innocent of top count

LOWVILLE  Following a lengthy deliberation, a Lewis County jury on Tuesday afternoon found a Watertown man guilty of second-degree rape but acquitted him of a more serious forcible rape charge.

The 10-man, two-woman jury deliberated throughout Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning in the case of Patrick J. Elliott, 37, of 518 W. Main St., Apt. A, before finding him guilty on charges of second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child.

However, jurors found him innocent of a first-degree rape charge, which would have carried a much more severe penalty.

He had been accused of having forcible sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl on Dec. 9 outside a residence in the town of West Turin.

Sentencing was set for Nov. 8.

Mr. Elliott is expected to be handed a state prison term between two and seven years, according to Assistant District Attorney Caleb J. Petzoldt, who prosecuted the case.

Although Mr. Petzoldt had hoped to get convictions on all three counts of the indictment, he commended jurors for their diligence and lengthy consideration of the case.

They clearly took their oaths very seriously, he said. They did their job.

Lewis County Judge Daniel R. King presided over the six-day trial.

Attorney Gary W. Miles represented Mr. Elliott in the case.

Conviction on the second-degree rape charge required jurors to believe without a reasonable doubt that intercourse had occurred with the underage girl, while the first-degree charge would require them additionally to believe that forcible compulsion was involved.

Commenting rules:

Stick to the topic of the article/letter/editorial.

When responding to issues raised by other commenters, do not engage in personal attacks or name-calling.

Comments that include profanity/obscenities or are libelous in nature will be removed without warning.

Violators' commenting privileges may be revoked indefinitely. By commenting you agree to our full Terms of Use.